Chaos Critter Tails: Dante and the Bucks and Does

Visit the Great Northern Den, where Dante learns about the bucks and the does, guided by Crokell and Office Cat. A picture-filled episode of Chaos Critter Tails featuring our very special critters!

This is Dante and Crokell’s adventure during our New Year’s up at our friends’ sheep ranch. Remember: never stop learning, and make time for naps.

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Dante and the Bucks and Does

Dante watched out of the window of the car as the Great Northern Den grew closer and closer. Finally, the dust from the unpaved road settled, and he looked out.

And saw the tree, the huge tree.

His Mini American Shepherd butt wiggled with excitement. He squirmed in his seat, pulling against his seat belt harness. He turned and pounced on his brother, who lay snoring next to him.

“Crokell, wake up. We’re here. We’re here. I see the tree.”

He stopped and thought for a second. “I need to pee.”

Business taken care of, the two dogs took a walk to check out the Great Northern Den. The lake was still there. With good rain this year, it was full with a beautiful sky overhead.

But Dante bounced up and down. “Crokell, what’s that over there?”

The big slobbery Newfoundland shook himself and walked through some sticker brushes to pick up more burrs in his fur.

“Why, Dante, that’s a couple of stags. They’re fighting over does.”

And he sat down and watched the two stags for a while. Dante sat down in his big brother’s shadow and watched too.

Finally, he asked, “Crokell?”

“Yes, little guy?”

“What’s a doe?”

Crokell laughed. “Here. Let’s go back up to the lodge, and you can talk to Office Cat.”

The two brothers ambled at their respective speeds and met back up at the office. The gray female cat was in. She looked down at the two dogs.

“What are you two doing back here again?”

Crokell shook himself from head to tail and smiled up at the crabby old kitty. “We don’t have any choice. The monkeys put us in the car. The car comes up here, and we have to stay for a week.”

The cat glared at the two dogs. Dante tried really hard to sit as still as possible, but his butt was wiggling. He slowly butt-walked around Crokell, until he was sitting on the other side closer to the cat.

The cat couldn’t help herself and laughed. “You are the weirdest little dog I know, and I know a lot of little dogs.”

“Hi, Office Cat,” popped up Dante. “Can I ask a question? What’s a doe?”

The cat looked at the two brothers.

“You city dogs. A doe is a deer, a female deer.”

Crokell nodded. “I suspected as much.”

Dante jumped up and ran around in a circle around Crokell a couple times. He sat back down, looked up at Office Cat.

“Thank you very much. Why do the stags fight over does?”

Office Cat laughed at Dante again.

“It’s what happens in nature. Whichever male wins, it’s his job to protect the does.”

Dante tilted his head. “Is that all?”

Crokell and Office Cat exchanged glances.

Crokell responded to Dante. “As far as we’re concerned, yeah, that’s it, little guy.”

Office cat told Dante. “Why don’t you run over to the far side of the pastures? There’s some water buffalo there. Look at them and then come back and tell me what you saw.”

Dante scurried off at his normal pace, 20% faster than his legs would actually carry him sending loose gravel out in a cloud of dust behind him.

Crokell looked up at the office cat. “You just wanted a nap while he ran there and back.”

The cat looked down at the Newfie. “I see we’re of like minds. You are very intelligent for a dog.”

They lay down, the cat on the roof, the dog on the cool pine porch, and waited for Dante to return.

Eventually, Dante came screaming back. “I saw it. I saw it. I saw it. I saw the water buffalo.”

The cat woke up, yawned, and looked down at the little Mini American Shepherd. “Right. And you saw there was a big male, a big female, and then a bunch of smaller ones. Right?”

Dante ran in a circle. “Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.”

“Well, did you notice when you looked at them, the male kept his eye on you just in case you tried to do something to one of the water buffalo?”

Dante bounced up and down. “Yes.”

He stopped for a moment. “I was very quiet and very still around them.”

Office Cat blinked at him.

“Yep. That was a very good thought. Now, I want you to go to the south side where the shelters are. And there, you should see some blackbuck. I want you to watch them and come back and tell me what you saw.”

Dante ran in a circle around Crokell, who was just now starting to wake up.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll be back.”

And he ran off, spraying burrs and sand everywhere. Crokell shook himself clean. He craned his head up at Office Cat. “Where’d you send him this time?”

“Blackbucks.”

The dog nodded.

“Good thinking.”

And they went back to sleep.

Too short of a nap later, Dante came running up, nails scrabbling on the wood.

“I saw him. I saw him. I saw him.”

Office cat looked down at him again, stretching. “And what did you see, Dante?”

Dante bounced up and down at the sound of the cat saying his name.

“Blackbuck does are the lighter colored ones. Right?”

Crokell, waking up, caught up with what was going on. “Yes. I heard the big monkey say that.”

“Well, the dark one, the male with the horns, he just stood there, and he watched all the females, all the does, run bouncing away. When the last one had passed him and gotten a bit from him, he followed them.”

Office Cat nodded wisely and blinked. “That is right. He was making sure all the does made it to safety before he followed them.”

Dante blinked. “Safe from what?”

The cat chuckled. “Well, in this case, it was from you, little guy.”

Dante sprang to his feet, scurried in a circle again, jumped over Crokell, went and sat back down.

“Why?”

Office Cat cleaned on paw. “I guess they don’t like to be herded.”

The cat and the Newfoundland dog exchanged a glance. This time, the cat spoke to Crokell.

“City Newfie, you should get your monkeys to take you to the other house. There, Dante might see something he really likes, and the wise Jack is there.”

Crokell pulled himself slowly and laboriously up to all fours. He shook himself again.

“Well, thank you for the naps, Office Cat. We’ll see what we can do.”

It took some doing because, as Dante and Crokell were both aware, monkeys are very slow on the uptake. But eventually, they took a walk. And while they were walking, Dante suddenly stopped, alerted. He looked into the woods.

“What- what is that? I want- that should be herded. I’m sure.”

He shook himself.

A chuckle behind them made Dante bounce and turn around in the air and come down.

“Jack!” exclaimed the Mini American.

Crokell nodded at the little white and brown dog and flopped over while the little monkey went up and petted it.

Jack took the pets offered but kept his attention on Dante. “Hi, guys. Glad you could make it this year.”

Crokell responded with a snore, but Dante wiggled around. “What- what’s that over there in the woods?”

The wise Jack looked. “Oh, that’s a sheep.”

Dante said the word to himself.

“Sheep. Sheep. Sheep.”

He started to fall asleep but jerked himself awake.

“I think I like sheep.”

The Jack laughed at him. “That’s because you and I are herding dogs. We herd sheep and goats.”

Dante looked at the big monkey and the little monkey. “I don’t think they’re gonna let me herd the sheep.”

Little Jack nodded. “Yeah. But maybe someday.”

Dante enjoyed watching the sheep and the goats and the other animals for the rest of the week. Finally, the little monkey and the big monkey gathered up Crokell and Dante. They looked at the Great Northern Den, saying goodbye to it for another year.

Crokell, in particular, had decided he was a rancher dog.

But eventually, reality called, and they piled into the car and watched through the window as the Great Northern Den disappeared into the distance for another year.

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Chaos Tip of the Week

Never quit learning. But make sure you know what you’re learning.

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Chaos Question of the Week

What did you learn lately that you really enjoyed - either the knowledge itself or the learning experience?

~ Tod and Anna